2025 Speakers
Dec. 2025 | Designing an AI Health Assistant
Girish Payal is a collaborating scientist at OpenLab. He will be presenting his work developing HealthWise, featuring the AI assistant William, which is a clinically safe, conversational companion that explains health information clearly. William offers gentle reminders, encouragement, and evidence-based guidance, helping patients with chronic diseases navigate care between visits.
Nov. 2025 | How to Redesign End-of-Life Care in the Hospital
Rose Bianchini is a design researcher and strategist whose recent work critically examines how end‑of‑life care in hospital ICUs can be reimagined to preserve dignity, autonomy, and emotional support. She brings a human‑centred design and strategic foresight approach to propose hospital environments and care processes that truly recognize dying as a meaningful part of life — not just a medical failure.
Oct. 2025 | Graphic Medicine
Shelley Wall is an Associate Professor in the Biomedical Communications graduate program at University of Toronto, and a certified medical illustrator and visual storyteller. She specializes in Graphic Medicine — using comics and visual narrative to explore healthcare, illness, and patient experience — and teaches courses in bioscientific illustration, medical comics, and patient‑centred visual communication. Through her work, Shelley bridges art, medical science, and storytelling to enrich empathy, understanding, and communication in health care.
Sept. 2025 | Quality Management System/Academy at THP
Christopher Fung is a healthcare leader based in Toronto, Ontario, serving as Director, Quality and Patient Safety at Trillium Health Partners, one of Canada’s largest community-based hospital systems affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. In his role, he focuses on advancing quality improvement, patient safety, and system performance across the organization’s acute care sites, helping foster safer, more reliable care experiences for diverse communities.
June 2025 | How the Healthcare System makes Decisions
Helen Angus is a former Deputy Minister of Health with extensive experience in government and health‑care administration. She has led major initiatives in public policy, health‑system management, and digital health strategy. Helen is recognized for her expertise in guiding complex decisions across large-scale public systems.
Bob Bell is a former Deputy Minister of Health and former CEO of the University Health Network. He has decades of experience in clinical care, research, and health‑system leadership in Ontario. Bob has played a key role in shaping health policy and system-level decisions across the province.
May 2025 | Update on Overdose Response Network Project
Craig Madho is a Project Manager at OpenLab and will be presenting an update on the Overdose Response Network (ORN) project. ORN is a community-driven mobile app that provides a virtual harm-reduction safety net for people who use opioids alone, connecting users with nearby peers who can respond to overdose alerts with naloxone. Building on a 2022 feasibility study in supportive housing settings, the current pilot is rolling out a production version of the app across three sites in the GTA, enrolling up to 100 participants over six months to evaluate real-world use and impact.
April 2025 | Architecture in Long-Term Care
Rochelle Moncarz is a Principal at Snyder Architects with over 20 years of experience in architecture and community‑centred design. She specializes in long‑term care, educational, and institutional facilities, focusing on spaces that enhance well‑being and daily life. Rochelle’s work includes leading culturally meaningful and sustainable designs, such as elder‑care homes that blend resident‑centred care with innovative architecture.
March 2025 | Transit in Durham
Deb Daniel is Program Manager of Community Engagement and Change at Durham Region Transit (DRT). She helps lead DRT’s outreach and engagement work, including community‑focused initiatives like installing public‑art benches at transit stops and planning for future service improvements.
Feb. 2025 | Community Paramedics
Erin Stankevicius is Superintendent of Community Paramedicine at Toronto Paramedic Services. She leads a team that provides non-emergency, community-based care — including wellness clinics, home visits, and system-navigation — to Toronto’s most vulnerable residents. Under her leadership, the program works to fill gaps in health and social services, reducing unnecessary emergency calls and improving support for people living in the community.
Jan. 2025 | Awake AI
Hugh Cameron is a co‑founder and former CFO of AwakeAI, a Canadian startup using AI-powered computer vision to support caregiving and senior care. Under his leadership, AwakeAI developed a real‑time, privacy‑preserving system that helps monitor well‑being of seniors in long‑term care without wearables or manual intervention. Hugh brings entrepreneurial experience and a deep commitment to improving care delivery — combining innovative technology with compassion-driven design to support vulnerable populations.